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GETTING STARTED GUIDE
Version 4.10
Revision A
March 2008
Part Number 34231-33 F
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© 1999–2008, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights – ECW JPEG 2000 Runtime, copyright © 2006 Earth
reserved. Portions of the software are copyright © 1995- Resource Mapping Limited. All rights reserved.
2008 LizardTech, Inc. All rights reserved. MrSID® is – MrSID® Decoder Runtime, copyright © 1995-1999
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Surveyor, GeoExplorer, and GPS Pathfinder are for which it was intended. Such use is limited to the total
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and/or other countries. commercially reasonable efforts to prevent its
All other trademarks are the property of their respective unauthorized use and disclosure. Disabling any licensing
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This product is covered by the following patents: (2) The Software contains valuable trade secrets
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permitted by relevant law, you shall not, nor allow any
Release Notice third party to copy, decompile, disassemble or otherwise
This is the March 2008 release (Revision A) of the GPS reverse engineer the Software, or attempt to do so,
Pathfinder Office Software Getting Started Guide, part provided, however, that to the extent any applicable
number 34231-33. It applies to version 4.10 of the GPS mandatory laws give you the right to perform any of the
Pathfinder Office software. aforementioned activities without Trimble's consent in
order to gain certain information about the Software for
End User License Agreement purposes specified in the respective statutes (e.g.,
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any such rights, you shall first request such information
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applies to the Trimble Navigation Limited GPS
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will also apply to any Software error corrections, updates (4) You may not rent, lease or lend the Software unless
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INSTALLING, COPYING OR OTHERWISE USING THE this Agreement "service bureau work" shall be deemed to
SOFTWARE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE include, without limitation, use of the Software to process
TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE
TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, PROMPTLY
2 Software Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Compatible GPS systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Platform requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Registering the GPS Pathfinder Office software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Obtaining your installation code after registration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Installing the GPS Pathfinder Office software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Running the installation program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Updating the GPS Pathfinder Office software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Managing licenses for the GPS Pathfinder Office software . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Installing the Mapping and GIS License Manager software . . . . . . . . 37
Mapping and GIS License Manager Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
GPS Pathfinder Office License Administrator software . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 Basics of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Starting the GPS Pathfinder Office software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Setting the time zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Selecting a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Features of the application window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Map and Time Line windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Map window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Time Line window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Manipulating and moving the windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Saving the window layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Displaying a toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Floating a toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Selecting a tool in a toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Standard toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Project toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Mouse toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Utility toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Shortcut menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Measurement units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Exiting the GPS Pathfinder Office software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4 Tutorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Tutorial sample files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Scenario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Exercise 1: Configuring the GPS Pathfinder Office software . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Starting the GPS Pathfinder Office software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Setting the local time zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Selecting a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Selecting a coordinate system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Exercise 2: Preparing to collect data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
GPS data collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
A Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Map and Time Line window display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Printers and plotters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Internet problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
Connection problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
Files not present on the Internet server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Web Map Server problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Internet connection problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
Web Map Server connection problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
General issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
1
Introduction 1
Related information
Other sources of related information are:
• Help – The software has built-in, context-sensitive online Help
that lets you quickly find the information you need. Access it
from the Help menu. Alternatively, click the Help button in a
window, or press [F1].
• Release Notes – The release notes describe new features in this
version of the software and any changes to the documentation,
and provide any information not included in the product
documentation. The release notes are provided in the box with
the software. They are also provided as a PDF file on the GPS
Pathfinder Office Software CD and are installed in the program
directory (typically C:\Program Files\Trimble\GPS Pathfinder
Office) when you install the software
• Website – For related information about the GPS Pathfinder
Office software, go to the Trimble website
(www.trimble.com/pathfinderoffice.shtml).
• Trimble training courses – Consider a training course to help you
use your GPS system to its full potential. For more information,
go to the Trimble website at www.trimble.com/training.shtml.
Technical assistance
If you have a problem and cannot find the information you need in the
product documentation, contact your Trimble reseller.
Technical support
Go to the GPS Pathfinder Office software technical support page
(www.trimble.com/pathfinderoffice_ts.asp) on the Trimble website for
the latest support information about the software, including:
• FAQs
• support notes detailing the latest support issues
• documentation
• the latest files available for download
Your comments
Your feedback about the supporting documentation helps us to improve
it with each revision. E-mail your comments to
ReaderFeedback@trimble.com.
2
Software Installation 2
Platform requirements
The minimum platform requirements to ensure successful operation of
the GPS Pathfinder Office software are:
• an Intel x86 architecture
• 160 MB of free disk space for a standard installation (with
additional space for data files)
• one of the following Microsoft operating systems, including 64-bit
variants:
– Windows Vista® (Ultimate Edition, Enterprise Edition,
Business Edition, or Home Edition)
– Windows XP (Professional Edition, Home Edition, or Tablet
PC Edition SP 2)
– Windows 2000 Professional (SP 3)
– Windows Server® 2003
• Internet Explorer version 6.0 or later
• a USB serial port ( for communicating with a field computer
running data collection software)
Note – If you want to transfer data files to or from a device powered by the
Windows Mobile® operating system, and you are using a Windows XP or
2000 operating system, make sure you have installed the appropriate
version of Microsoft ActiveSync technology. If you are using Windows Vista,
a connectivity driver for Windows Mobile powered devices is included with
your operating system.
Note – If this screen does not appear, select Autorun.exe from the CD drive
folder.
b. Click Register.
The My Trimble page for your account appears. It will look similar
to the one shown below:
Note – If a message warns that the POPN you entered has already been
registered, click Cancel to cancel the registration process. Then obtain the
installation code for your copy of the software and install the software. For
more information, see Obtaining your installation code after registration,
page 25.
9. If this is the first time that you have registered a Trimble Mapping
and GIS product, the Mapping & GIS Industry Details page
appears. From the drop-down lists, select your organization type
and most common market segment and then click Save.
You are returned to your My Trimble page, where the software
you have just registered now appears in the My Products section:
Installation
code
10. If the two lines below the GPS Pathfinder Office software do not
appear, click the + beside the copy of the GPS Pathfinder Office
software that you have just registered.
The Installation Code field shows the installation code for your
copy of the GPS Pathfinder Office software. Make a note of this
code. You must enter this code when you install or reinstall the
software.
Note – If you are entitled to an upgrade from a previous version of the GPS
Pathfinder Office software, you can install GPS Pathfinder Office version
4.10 using the installation code that you obtained when you first registered
the product. If you are not entitled to an upgrade, the installation program
will not accept your installation code. Contact your local Trimble reseller to
purchase a software maintenance option.
To do this:
a. Open your Web browser and go to
www.trimble.com/register.
Your default Web browser opens and displays the My
Trimble account login page:
Installation
code
Note – If this screen does not appear, select Autorun.exe from the CD drive
folder.
2. Click Install.
B Tip – You can change from a single use license to a floating license, and
vice versa, at any time using the GPS Pathfinder Office License
Administrator software. For more information search for the topic License
Administrator in the GPS Pathfinder Office Software Help.
12. Enter the installation code assigned to your copy of the GPS
Pathfinder Office software when you registered the software and
then click Next.
The Setup Type page appears:
16. Trimble recommends that you click the Yes, check for program
updates option and then click Finish.
The GPS Pathfinder Office Updater utility appears. Use the utility
to download the latest software updates and documentation
from the Trimble website.
If you selected a language other than English in the Choose Setup
Language dialog (see Step 4 above), and you want to run the rest
of the GPS Pathfinder Office software in that language, the
Updater utility checks for available language files in the
appropriate language.
Once you download files, you can install them immediately, or
you can run the Updater utility later and select the downloaded
files that you want to install.
2. Click Install.
The Installation screen appears.
3. Click Mapping & GIS License Manager.
4. The Mapping & GIS License Manager installation wizard
appears.
Follow the instructions on the screen to install the Mapping &
GIS License Manager software.
3
Basics of Operation 3
Selecting a project
When you first start the GPS Pathfinder Office after installation, the
Select Project dialog appears.
A project consists of a set of folders on the computer that store the data
files for a particular job. Projects let you separate the data into different
areas on the computer so you can keep track of different jobs separately.
By default, all GPS Pathfinder Office software projects are located in the
GPS Projects folder. The location of the GPS Projects folder depends on
the type of Microsoft operating system running on your computer. If it
uses the:
• Windows Vista operating system, the GPS Projects folder is
located in the C:\Users\<username>\Documents folder.
Status bar
Title Bar
Toolbars
Map window
The Map window is the primary means of viewing your data. It provides
a plan view of the area. The Map window can display the features you
have collected, the waypoints in the current waypoint file, and any
number of background maps:
You can select the features, waypoints, and notes to view information
about them, or to change them.
You can select the features and notes to view information about them,
or change them.
Zooming
In both the Map and Time Line windows, you can:
• zoom in to view information in greater detail
• zoom out to view a greater area
• zoom to extents to view all the information in the window
• zoom to the scale that the map was previously set to
To zoom in:
1. Click the Zoom In tool: . Alternatively, select View / Zoom / In.
The tool remains depressed.
2. Move the pointer over the window.
It now displays as a magnifying glass with cross-hairs
which mark the position of the pointer:
3. Do one of the following:
– Click a position in the window.
The scale of the window is halved, and the position becomes
the new center of the window.
– Drag the pointer across the window until you produce a
rectangle that contains the data you want to zoom in on:
To zoom out:
1. Click the Zoom Out tool: . Alternatively, select View / Zoom /
Out.
The tool remains depressed.
2. Move the pointer over the window. It becomes .
3. Do one of the following:
– Click a position in the window. The scale of the window is
doubled, and the position becomes the new center of the
window.
– Drag the pointer across the window until you produce a
rectangle. The smaller the rectangle, the greater the scale
change will be. Release the mouse button. The scale of the
window changes, and the area previously displayed in the
whole window now occupies the rectangle.
To zoom to extents:
1. Click the Map or Time Line window, to make it the active window.
2. Click the Zoom Extents tool: . Alternatively, select View /
Zoom / Extents.
The window now displays all the information for the visible layers
in the currently-open files. The previously selected tool remains
selected.
To zoom to the previous scale:
1. Click the Map or Time Line window, to make it the active window.
2. Click the Zoom Previous tool . Alternatively, select View /
Zoom / Previous.
The window now displays information at the scale used before you last
zoomed or panned.
Panning
To view a different area or time period of the data file, pan around the
Map and Time Line windows. You can also configure the windows so
that they pan automatically to include the currently selected item.
To pan across the window:
1. Click the Pan tool: . Alternatively, select View / Pan.
The tool remains depressed.
2. Move the pointer over the window.
The pointer becomes .
3. Do one of the following:
– Click a position in the window. That position becomes the
new center of the window.
– Drag the pointer in the direction and for the distance you
want to pan. A dotted border indicating the amount the
window view will move appears as you drag the pointer:
B Tip – You can use this option to locate a feature or waypoint which is hard
to find on the Map or Time Line window.
Selecting an item
You can select items displayed on the Map or the Time Line window.
Only one item (one feature, note, or waypoint) can be selected at a time.
• If a feature is selected in the Map or Time Line window, it is
selected in both windows. It also appears in the Feature Properties
window. (If the Feature Properties window is not open, double-
click a feature.)
• If a waypoint is selected on the Map window, it is also selected in
the Waypoint Properties window.
• If a note is selected in the Time Line window, it is also selected in
the Feature Properties window.
A selected point feature, waypoint, or note has a frame around it, for
example the fire hydrant symbol near the top of the window in the Map
window shown below:
A selected line or area feature is drawn with a thicker line type, for
example the line across the centre of the rectangle shown below:
Toolbars
Tools with related functions are grouped together in different toolbars.
Some tools display a dialog; other tools change the pointer, and some
start utility programs.
The GPS Pathfinder Office software has four toolbars:
• Standard
Displaying a toolbar
You can show or hide a toolbar.
To display a toolbar, select Options / Toolbars. From the pullout menu,
select the toolbar you want to display.
B Tip – To display the Toolbar submenu you can also right-click on the edge
of the toolbar area.
If a toolbar is visible, a check mark (3) appears beside its name. Select
the toolbar in the submenu to remove the checkmark. The toolbar
disappears.
Select an un-checked toolbar to make the toolbar appear again.
Floating a toolbar
You can move a toolbar from its ‘docked’ position and create a ‘floating’
toolbar, so that the toolbars are in a more convenient location for you.
To create a floating toolbar:
1. Place the mouse anywhere within the area of the toolbar, but not
directly over a button.
2. Click once and hold the mouse down (the toolbar is depressed).
3. Drag the toolbar away from its docked position while continuing
to hold the mouse down.
4. Release the mouse at a position where you want to place the
floating toolbar.
To move a floating toolbar to any position on the desktop, drag the
toolbar by its title bar.
To change the shape of a floating toolbar, use its window border to
resize it.
To close a floating toolbar, click the close box in the top right corner of
the toolbar.
B Tip – Position the pointer over any tool. A small yellow popup window
(ToolTip) appears, showing the name of the tool. Additional information
appears in the status bar at the bottom of the application window.
Standard toolbar
The Standard toolbar contains tools
for file and window operations:
Time Line Opens the Time Line window. View / Time Line
Project toolbar
The Project toolbar contains items to
help you manage projects:
Item Description
Displays the name of the folder set for the present project.
Change the project by selecting a project name from the drop-down
list.
Opens the folder named in the Current Project drop-down list box in a
Windows Explorer view.
Displays the amount of free disk space on the drive where the current
project is stored.
Mouse toolbar
The Mouse toolbar contains tools for
the mouse and view actions:
Utility toolbar
The Utility toolbar contains tools for
opening utility programs:
Shortcut menus
Shortcut menus in the GPS Pathfinder Office software appear when you
right-click items. The items that appear in the shortcut menu depend
on the item selected.
For example, right-click a feature in the Map or Time Line window to
display menu options such as Zoom In, Zoom Out, Pan, Delete, Properties,
and Symbol.
Measurement units
To select the units used to display or enter numeric values used by the
GPS Pathfinder Office software, select Options / Units. The Units dialog
appears:
Use the Units dialog to choose units for distance, area and velocity, as
well as the formats for display of offsets and bearings. The default values
and options are shown above.
To set units for coordinates and heights, and the reference for altitudes,
select Options / Coordinate System.
Values that you enter into a field are often in a particular unit, for
example meters. The field displays an abbreviation for the unit after the
value, so that you know the current units.
B Tip – To convert data into the configured units, simply enter the value
followed by the abbreviation for the units it is in. For example, if meters is
the configured unit, and you enter 10 ft, it is converted to 3.048 m. This
applies only to fields that contain distances, offsets, heights, or
coordinates.
4
Tutorial 4
Scenario
The local City Government maintains a GIS of its public assets. This
includes street signs, utility poles, parks and their amenities, parking
lots, and other types of assets. Information is stored about each asset,
including its condition and other information specific to each type of
asset.
Your task is to prepare the data dictionary so that the field crews can
collect the required information, process the data using the
GPS Pathfinder Office software, and then export it to your GIS.
A few months later, the data needs to be updated, so you must then
import the data from your GIS into the GPS Pathfinder Office software,
update the data dictionary, and send the field crews out with the data so
that they can update information on the assets.
4. From the Time Zone field, select the time zone for your current
location.
B Tip – If the local time zone is not available, click New Time Zone. The
Add Time Zone dialog appears. Enter the name of the time zone and the
offset from Greenwich Mean Time. For example, if the time zone is 9 hours
and 45 minutes behind Greenwich, enter -9:45 as the offset. Click OK.
5. Click OK to save the time zone settings and close the dialog.
B Tip – To display GPS times at any stage, select Greenwich Mean Time
(+0:00) instead of the local time zone.
Selecting a project
A project is a set of folders on the computer that store the data files for a
particular job. They let you separate the data into different areas on the
computer so that you can keep track of different jobs separately.
You must decide how you want to use projects to separate the data. You
may want to have a different project for each different site you are
working on, or you may have a project for each of your clients.
To select a project:
1. When you start the GPS Pathfinder Office software, the Select
Project dialog appears automatically:
If this dialog does not appear, select File / Projects to display it.
B Tip – To stop the Select Project dialog appearing each time you start the
GPS Pathfinder Office software, clear the Display this dialog at start-up
check box.
This area shows the folders that are defined for this project.
Table 4.1 describes the purpose of each folder.
2. Make sure that the Select By group is set to the Coordinate System
and Zone option.
3. Set the System field to UTM.
4. Set the Zone field to 10 North.
5. Set the Datum field to NAD 1983 (Conus).
6. Make sure that the Altitude Measured From group is set to the
Mean Sea Level (MSL) option.
7. Make sure that the Geoid Model group is set to the Defined Geoid
(EGM96 (Global)) option.
8. Set the Coordinate Units field to Meters.
9. Set the Altitude Units field to Meters and then click OK.
Features
A feature is a physical object or an event in the real world for which you
want to collect position and descriptive information. For example, you
may want to collect information about lakes or roads.
Each feature has a feature name. Feature names are equivalent to
themes or layers in a GIS or CAD system. Each occurrence of a feature is
equivalent to a record in that theme or layer in a GIS system.
GPS data collection software uses feature classification to determine
the way the data collection software logs GPS positions.
A feature can be one of three different types. See Table 4.2.
Table 4.2 Feature types
Feature type Examples
Point Accident sites
Water faucets in a park
Line Paths
Pipelines
Area Lakes
Wetlands
Attributes
You can define a set of attributes for each feature type. An attribute is a
piece of descriptive information about the feature. For example, for the
feature, Path, you could have the attribute, Width. Each Path feature
that you collect in the field will have its own value for this attribute.
For each attribute you must define an attribute name. Attribute names
are equivalent to items, columns, or fields in a GIS or CAD system.
line
area
5. Now view some features and their attributes. Select the Fire
Hydrant feature.
6. The Attributes column
shows you three
defined attributes:
– Color
– Number of
Spouts
– Last Inspection
Date
7. Click on each of these
attributes in turn.
Notice that the right
panel shows
information about the currently selected attribute.
In this example, the number to be entered in the field must be a
whole number. There can be a minimum of one spout and a
maximum of 10 spouts. The default number of spouts is 2.
B Tip – To check the printer setup and font before printing, select
File / Print Setup or File / Set Printer Font.
To preview the data dictionary printout before you actually print it:
1. Select File / Print Preview. The Print Preview window appears:
2. Click Print, check your printer settings and then click OK to send
the data dictionary to the printer.
3. Select File / Exit to close the Data Dictionary Editor.
You are now ready to transfer the data dictionary to the data field
computers so that your three field crews can go out and collect some
data.
To transfer data to the field computer, select the Send tab, click Add,
and then select a file type from the drop-down list. The Open dialog
appears. Browse to the location of the files and select them. Then return
to the Data Transfer utility window and click Transfer All.
For the purpose of this tutorial, we have done this for you.
Base data
Many regions have reference stations that can supply the base data
required for differential correction. The GPS Pathfinder Office software
provides a list of some stations that you can use to obtain base data. You
can access this list in the Select Base Provider dialog.
The base data for the tutorial is on the Trimble FTP site and is available
by selecting the GPS Pathfinder Office tutorial base files provider from
the list in the Select Base Provider dialog.
The Select SSF files to correct list is either empty, or it displays the
SSF files that were selected for differential correction the last
time you used the Differential Correction wizard.
2. Remove any SSF files that are listed by selecting them and then
clicking the Delete button .
The selected SSF files appear in the Select SSF Files to correct
list in the Differential Correction wizard.
11. Make sure the Use project folder option is selected. The output
files will be stored in the GPS Projects\Tutorial folder, because
that is the project folder you have specified. The output files will
have a .cor extension.
12. Make sure the Create a unique filename option is selected. That
means that if you recorrect the SSF files, each subsequent
corrected file will have _n appended to the filename, where n
denotes the next number in the sequence.
13. Click Start. The differential correction process starts.
B Tip – If the Map window is not open and no files are loaded, select View /
Map to automatically open the Open Data Files dialog. This is a handy
shortcut for opening the data files. The same rule applies for the Time Line
window.
Vector files
A vector file loads and transforms into any coordinate system.
The vector file Streets.dxf has its coordinates stored as
Latitude/Longitude (WGS-84), but the coordinate system for the
project is currently set to UTM.
We will need to specify that this file is set to the Latitude/Longitude
coordinate system so that the GPS Pathfinder Office software can
automatically transform the file from that coordinate system into UTM.
Raster files
Raster files must be displayed in the coordinate system to which they
are “geo-referenced”. Geo-referencing involves matching the pixels in a
raster file to real-world coordinates. All raster files must be
geo-referenced before they can be loaded into the GPS Pathfinder Office
software.
The raster file Aerial.bmp is geo-referenced in the UTM coordinate
system, and UTM is the coordinate system for the project.
You can load this file without setting the coordinate system.
You will load the two background files one at a time so that you can see
what each background file looks like individually.
To load the background file STREETS.dxf:
1. Select File / Background. The Load Background Files dialog
appears.
2. Click Add. The Add Background Files dialog appears:
3. Open the Tutorial folder, select the file STREETS.dxf and then
click Open to return to the Load Background Files dialog.
A message reminds you to set the correct coordinate system for
the new background files (you will do this in Step 5).
The check mark to the left of the filename indicates that the file
loads when you close the dialog.
B Tip – If you know the style number of a symbol, you can enter it directly in
the Style field. For a table of assigned Trimble GPS Pathfinder symbol style
numbers, refer to the GPS Pathfinder Office Software Help.
5. In the Size field, change the size of the symbol from the default of
15 to 20.
B Tip – To view all the symbols for a font, click Change. The Select Style
dialog appears. Select a different font, and then choose a symbol. Click
OK.
Each layer in the STREETS.dxf file has a separate layer in this list.
The aerial photograph is a single layer in this list. The minor
roads are layers ROADS4, ROADS6, ROADS8, and ROADS9.
4. Select all of the above Road layers by clicking on ROADS4,
holding down [Shift], and then clicking ROADS9.
All the Road layers from ROADS4 to ROADS9 should be selected.
5. Click the box in the Show column to hide these layers. The check
marks beside these layers disappear.
6. In the View group, select the As Above option. Selecting this
option displays only the layers with a check mark.
7. Click OK to close the dialog. The Map window redraws without
the minor roads.
This dialog shows how far and in what direction the feature is
from the spot where the GPS receiver was placed when it was
actually collected.
In this example, the location of the bus stop is 22 meters in a
westerly direction from the spot where it was collected.
3. You cannot edit the offset because multiple files are open. Click
Cancel to close the dialog.
Note – For line and area features, a direction rather than a bearing, is
defined. The direction indicates whether the feature is to the left or to the
right, looking along the direction of collection.
5. Enter a title for the plot in the Title field. For example, type
Tutorial Files.
When the Export utility starts, the most recently used data files
are selected by default as input files.
2. Look at the Output Folder field. This defaults to the export folder
specified in the current project, \GPS Projects\Tutorial\Export.
This folder is where all export files will be created.
3. Look at the Choose an Export Setup group. It shows information
about the export format, the type of data you are exporting,
output options, and the coordinate system used for the exported
data shows the export setups that are available. The drop-down
list in this group contains a list of available export setups. An
export setup consists of a format plus several parameters that
customize that format for a particular purpose. You can create as
many export setups as you like and use them over and over.
4. From the drop-down list, select Sample ESRI Shapefile Setup.
This export setup creates output files in Shapefile format. The
resulting Shapefiles contain 2D coordinates. Tracking themes are
not exported.
Note – If you cannot locate the correct projection file, leave the Projection
File field blank.
e. Click OK to return to the Export Setup Properties dialog.
f. Click OK to close the Export Setup Properties dialog.
6. The rest of the information in the Choose an Export Setup group is
updated with information relating to the export setup you
selected:
10. Click Close to remove the message without displaying the export
log.
11. Using Windows Explorer or another file management utility, look
at the contents of the \GPS Projects\Tutorial\Export folder.
The folder contains the following file types:
2. Select the Menu option and then click Add. The New Menu
Attribute dialog appears:
7. Click Add. The value is added to the Menu Attribute Values group
in the New Menu Attribute dialog:
The New Attribute Value – Menu Item dialog remains open so you
can add more values.
8. In the Attribute Value field, enter the text Repair then click Add.
9. Repeat Step 8 but enter the text Replace.
10. Click Close to return to the New Menu Attribute dialog.
11. Click OK to return to the New Attribute Type dialog.
You now need to add a Date attribute to the Trash Can feature so that
the date the field crew visited the feature can be logged:
1. In the New Attribute Type dialog, select the Date option and then
click Add.
The New Date Attribute dialog appears.
2. In the Attribute Name field, enter the text Date Visited.
3. Select the Text option and then click Add. The New Text Attribute
dialog appears:
2. Make sure that the Tutorial folder is selected and in the File name
field, enter the following name for your changed data dictionary:
Tutorial_updated.ddf.
3. Click Save.
The name of the new data dictionary appears in the title bar of
the main Data Dictionary Editor screen.
4. Select File / Exit to close the Data Dictionary Editor utility.
3. In the Choose an Import Setup group, make sure that the Sample
ESRI Shapefile Setup item is selected.
To import some data from the GIS and match it with the data
dictionary, which you just changed:
a. In the Type of Data to Import group, select the Features with
External Data Dictionary option. The Select Data Dictionary
group becomes available.
b. Click Dictionary File. The Select Data Dictionary File dialog
appears.
c. Select the Tutorial_updated.ddf file, which is in the Tutorial
folder and then click Open.
5. In the Import Setup Properties dialog, select the Coordinate System
tab.
If the Current Coordinate System area does not have the current
coordinate system selected (UTM) click Change and change the
coordinate system. (For the coordinate system settings that you
need to use, see page 70).
6. In the Import Setup Properties dialog, select the Output tab:
a. In the Output group, make sure that the Combine input files
into one output file option is selected. This will create only
one data file for taking back into the field for updating.
b. Click OK to return to the main Import utility screen.
7. In the Input Files group, click Browse.
The Select GIS Data Files dialog appears.
The selected files appear in the Output File area of the Import
Utility dialog.
9. In the Output File area:
a. Make sure that the file will be stored in the \GPS Projects
\Tutorial folder.
By default, the name of the file is automatically generated.
Note – The file itself is the same as an .ssf file except that it has a different
file extension. The file extension is changed to make sure that files are not
overwritten when they are transferred from the field computer back to the
office. By default, the file name uses the 24-hour clock format,
YMMDDHHa, where a is the number of the file that has been created in the
hour. For example, the file 0030722a.imp was created on 7 March 2000 at
22:00 hours. It is the first file created that hour.
b. Click Browse. The Specify Output File dialog appears.
B Tip – To see a detailed log of the import process, click More Details.
Finding a feature
You can search for a particular type of feature or for a feature with a
particular attribute value. In this case, we will search for all features
with the Condition attribute set to the value of Repair or Replace.
To find a feature that needs repairing or replacing:
1. Turn on the Auto-pan to Selection tool or select View / Auto-
pan to Selection.
Finding a feature with the Auto-pan to Selection tool ensures that
the Map window always displays the feature when it is found
even if it is not already in the Map window.
2. Select Edit / Find Feature. The Find Feature dialog appears.
3. In the Feature field, select the first feature listed: Sign.
4. In the Attribute field, select the Condition item.
5. In the Test field, select the Not equals item.
6. In the Value field, select the Good item.
7. In the Search group, make sure the
From Start option is selected:
The software searches for all Sign
features that need repairing or
replacing. The search starts from the
beginning of the data file. This is the
default when you first search for a
feature. Once the first occurrence of
a feature is found, the For Next
option is selected.
B Tip – To search for a particular feature that needs repairing, set the Test
field to Equals and the Value field to Repair.
8. Click Find. The GPS Pathfinder Office software searches for the
first feature in the file that is a Sign feature with a value that does
not equal Good.
B Tip – You may find it easier to view the found features if you turn the
aerial background map off.
9. Repeat the above steps to search for other features that need
repairing or replacing.
B Tip – If you cannot find this feature, use the Find Feature tool.
B Tip – To see where the positions were logged more clearly, zoom in on the
Park Road in the Map window.
4. Click >>. The crosshair jumps to the last position in the Park
Road feature (position 102 of 102).
5. Click Last. The crosshair jumps to the very last position in the
open file, which is in a Trash Can feature.
3. The Bench and Trash Can features appear in the Map and Time
Line windows, along with the line and area features to put the
features in perspective. You can also see where the trash cans are
located in relation to the park benches:
Measuring distances
The Measure command lets you measure distances and areas on the
map. You can measure the distance between two points, or the distance
along a route. To measure the distance along a route and not merely the
distance as the crow flies, you measure a series of straight-line distances
between points along the route. The approximate route distance is the
sum of these distances. You can also measure the area enclosed by a set
of points.
To measure the distance between two positions:
1. Select the Map window to make it active.
2. Click the Measure tool or select Data / Measure to activate
the Measure tool.
3. Click on the Map window at the start position.
The status bar changes to display the measurement information.
4. Move the mouse towards the position you want to measure to.
5. Click on the end position.
The status bar in the main window of the GPS Pathfinder Office
software displays the total distance and bearing between the
positions:
B Tip – To change the measurement units select Options / Units and change
the distance measurement.
Batch processing
The Batch Processor utility is a powerful tool designed to help you
increase your productivity by automating repetitive tasks. This means
that you can spend more time collecting data in the field.
You can set up the Batch Processor utility to transfer data, differentially
correct, format, and then export files to your particular GIS system. It
can also import and process your files with your GIS software,
depending on the power of its own batch or macro language.
You can save your settings as a batch setup to use in future sessions. A
batch setup stores information about, and specific settings for, the Data
Transfer, Differential Correction, and Export functions you select. You
can also associate a particular project with a batch setup.
The first part of this special lesson shows you how to:
• create a batch setup
• differentially correct files
• export corrected files
• run the Batch Processor utility
To create a new batch setup and run the Batch Processor utility:
1. Click the Batch tool , or select Utilities / Batch Processor. The
Batch Processor window starts, then the Batch Setup dialog
appears:
3. In the Setup Name field, type a name for your batch setup. Choose
a meaningful name so that you can easily identify it each time
you use this batch setup. For example, use the name of your client
and the date you create the setup.
6. In the Project group, choose the Selected project option and make
sure that the Tutorial project is selected.
7. Make sure that the Allow files to be overwritten check box is
selected, otherwise the Batch Processor utility stops when it tries
to create a file that already exists.
8. Click Next. The Processing Type page appears:
It displays the options for the export part of the batch process.
17. Click the drop-down arrow below the Export Setup field and
select the Sample ESRI Shapefile Setup option. The export folder
defaults to \GPS Projects\Tutorial\Export, which is the export
folder specified for the project.
c. Click the Browse button next to the Projection File field. The
software looks for the location where the ArcGIS software
installed the .prj files. Navigate to the location of the NAD
1983 UTM Zone 10N.prj file and select it.
d. Click OK to return to the Batch Setup Properties dialog.
19. If you left the Projection File field empty, a message warns that no
ESRI projection file has been found. Click Yes to continue.
20. Click Finish to return to the Batch Setup dialog.
All data files are shown in this dialog, including a set of Standard
Storage Format (.ssf) files. These are files that have been collected
in the field.
23. Select the files TUTDATA1.ssf, TUTDATA2.ssf, and
TUTDATA3.ssf, as follows:
a. Click TUTDATA1.ssf, then, while holding down [Ctrl], click
TUTDATA2.ssf and TUTDATA3.ssf.
All three data files are now highlighted.
b. Click Open to run the batch setup.
Managing waypoints
Waypoints are named locations that you can record using a field
computer running data collection software, or create in the GPS
Pathfinder Office software. Waypoints are useful for navigating to a
point.
In the GPS Pathfinder Office software, waypoints are stored in files that
usually have the extension .wpt. You can store as many waypoints as you
like in one file.
The second part of this special exercise shows you how to:
• create a new waypoint file
• create a waypoint
To create a new waypoint file:
1. Start the GPS Pathfinder Office software and open the Tutorial
project.
2. Select View / Map to display the Map window.
c. Select the three .cor files (or the first three .ssf files if no .cor
files are available).
d. Click Open to return to the Load Background Files dialog.
e. Click OK.
Progress bars shows that the files are loading, then the map
will display the features from the data files.
4. Select File / Waypoints / New. The following dialog appears:
By default, the new waypoint file is named using the current date
and time in the 24-hour clock format, wMMDDHHa, where w is
the waypoint file identifier and a is the number of the file that
was created in that hour. For example, the file w042810a.wpt was
created on 28 April at 1000 hours. It was the first file created in
that hour.
5. If you want, change the filename and the current folder, then click
OK.
The North, East, and Altitude fields have been filled in the with
coordinate of the location that you clicked on:
A
Troubleshooting A
Q General issues
Table A.1 Map and Time Line window display errors (continued)
Symptom Cause Solution
GPS information is When loading a background In the Load Background Files dialog,
not overlaying file, the GPS Pathfinder Office highlight the background file and
correctly on the software uses the coordinate check its associated coordinate
background file. system you specified to interpret system. If necessary, change the
the coordinates. If this configured system with the Change
coordinate system is different button in File / Background.
from the one used by the
background file, GPS positions
will not overlay correctly.
The waypoints The coordinate system used on Re-enter the coordinates from the
entered previously the paper map and the paper map using the correct
from a paper map coordinate system configured in coordinate system in the GPS
are not in the correct the GPS Pathfinder Office Pathfinder Office software.
position on the map software when you entered the
and their waypoints were different. You
coordinates appear must use the same coordinate
incorrect. system in the GPS Pathfinder
Office software as the
coordinate system used on the
paper map.
The Map window You zoomed to extents and you If you do not need the waypoints in
appears to be empty, have a waypoint file with the current waypoint file, close the
yet you know you waypoints a long way away file. Alternatively, select
should have data from where you are currently. View / Layers / Waypoints and clear
displayed in it. This can make the background the View check box; this hides the
map and SSF file very small in display of waypoints on the Map.
the Map window. Then select View / Zoom / Extents or
the Zoom Extents tool and you should
see the data clearly in the Map
window.
You lost where you The Map is zoomed in or Select the Map window and then
are on the Map panned away from the current select View / Zoom / Extents or the
window. position. Zoom Extents tool. The Map window
zooms to extents.
Information in the You turned some layers off. Select View / Layers / Background and
background file is turn the appropriate layers on.
not displayed on the
Map.
Table A.1 Map and Time Line window display errors (continued)
Symptom Cause Solution
Information in the You turned some layers off. Select View / Layers / Features and
SSF file is not turn the appropriate layers on.
displayed on the
Map or Time Line.
Notes in the SSF file You turned the notes layer off. Select View / Layers / Notes and turn
are not being the notes layer on.
displayed the Time
Line.
SSF files that have Display the positions in the
carrier and code foreground instead. To do this, select
processed data and File / Open.
are loaded as
background files,
appear slightly
different in the Map
window to how they
appear when
opened in the
foreground—point
features may not
match exactly the
file.
Waypoints in the You turned the waypoint layer Select View / Layers / Waypoints and
waypoint file are not off. turn the waypoint layer on.
being displayed on
the Map.
You cannot see notes The Time Line window has been Resize the Time Line window
or nested points on resized so that the notes and vertically.
the Time Line. nested point features are
hidden.
Internet problems
If Base Provider Search cannot download the required files, then:
1. Check that your internet connection is working.
For more information, see Connection problems, page 162.
2. Determine why the files are not present on the Internet server.
For more information, see Files not present on the Internet
server, page 163.
Connection problems
A helpful rule for problem solving is that if Microsoft Internet Explorer
works, then the Base Provider Search option in the Differential
Correction wizard will also work. That is, if Internet Explorer can access
and download base files from the chosen Internet base data provider,
then this establishes that Windows is set up correctly to work with the
Internet.
Internet Explorer uses the Windows settings, as does the Differential
Correction wizard. Some other Internet browsers do not use the
Windows settings; they use their own settings. Using a browser other
than Internet Explorer does not help with troubleshooting Differential
Correction problems.
If Internet Explorer cannot download the base files, then there is a
problem with the Windows setup. You may need help from your System
Administrator or Internet Service Provider (ISP) to resolve the problem.
Note – After changing the Windows Internet settings, you must close and
restart the Differential Correction wizard for the changes to take effect.
Table A.3 lists possible causes and solutions for problems relating to
Internet connections.
Table A.3 Internet connection errors
Symptom Cause Solution
You cannot The Internet Check the Windows Internet
connect to the configuration for settings. Try using Internet
Internet. A Windows is not set up Explorer to determine
timeout error correctly. Perhaps the whether it can access and
occurs, or it fails to modem is not installed download the base files. For
dial up the ISP. correctly, or Dial Up further assistance, contact
Networking is not set up the System Administrator or
correctly. ISP.
Failure to dial into The ISP may be busy with Try again, immediately or
the ISP. other customers, leaving later. Consider changing to
no spare lines free. an ISP that has more lines.
The Internet The Internet server is very Try again, immediately or
connection is very busy, or the ISP is busy, or later.
slow. the line is noisy.
You can connect to A firewall is preventing Contact your System
the Internet but you making the Administrator or ISP to
not to the base connection, or the base enable connectivity through
station server. station is offline. the firewall. Contact the base
station administrator to
enquire the status of the
base station.
B Tip – The most likely reason that file(s) are not present on the server is
that the base station logs data periodically (for example, hourly) and has
not yet made the file(s) you need available.
You may want to contact the administrator of the base station to see if
anything has changed.
General issues
Table A.8 lists general problems, their possible causes, and fixes.
Table A.8 General issues
Symptom Cause Solution
The GPS Pathfinder Office A corruption has occurred Restart Windows, and restart the GPS
software has locked up. while running Windows Pathfinder Office software.
software.
You cannot find the The window has scrolled off Maximize the application so that you
window you want to use. the desktop. can see more of the windows. You
can also select Windows / Cascade to
cascade the windows on the desktop
so that you can see them.
The GPS Pathfinder Office Settings in the registry or Reinstall the software. For more
software is not behaving configuration files may be information, refer to Chapter 2,
as expected, and you incorrect. Software Installation.
cannot find the symptom
in this Appendix.
The file that you are The Data Transfer utility Ensure that the correct system locale
trying to transfer using may not be able to transfer and code page settings are used,
the Data Transfer utility the file because of certain using the Windows Regional
will not transfer. characters in the filename Settings. For more information, refer
(in particular, Asian to the Windows Help.
language characters)
M
P
Map tool 56
Pan tool 57
Map window 43
panning
automatically opening 53
manually 50
changing 102
to keep selected item in view 51
displaying 94
Pathfinder Office software
displaying all information in 49
see GPS Pathfinder Office software
displaying at previous scale 49
platform requirements 17
filtering features 102
Plot Map tool 56
overview 46
plotting
panning 50
contents of Map window 110
plotting contents of 110
previewing on-screen first 111
selecting item in 51
problems with 161
troubleshooting 158
point feature 72
zooming 47
see also feature
Measure tool 57
adding to a data dictionary 118
measuring distance 136
changing style of 103
Menu attribute
pointer
See also attributes 120
display as hand 50
adding to a feature 120
display as magnifying glass 48, 49
Mouse toolbar 57
POPN 18, 23
My Trimble account 20, 26
Position Properties tool 56, 132
Position Properties window 43, 132
position, viewing 132
N previewing plot on-screen 111
notes Print command 78
displaying on Time Line window 47 Print tool 78
selecting 51 printing
showing 107 see also plotting
viewing in Map window 46 data dictionary 78
T
R
tasks, automating 138
raster files 95
technical support 14, 157
receivers, supported 16
TerraSync 102
reference position 88, 145
Time Line window 43
registration, software 18, 32
displaying 94
related information 13
selecting item in 51
release notes 13
Time Line Window tool 56
requirements, platform 17
time zone
roads, removing from street background
overview 42
file 105
setting 65
route, measuring 136
Time Zone Settings dialog 65
title bar 43
toolbars 54
S displaying 55
Save tool 56 floating a toolbar 55
saving data dictionary 124 Mouse 57
Select Base Provider dialog 80, 87, 144 selecting a tool 56
Select Project dialog 67 Standard 56, 57
Select tool 57, 107 Utility 58
selecting Trimble website 13
items on Map or Time Line 51 troubleshooting
project 65, 67 Data Transfer problems 169
general problems 163